Jones Jr. taking tune-up fight “in case” Silva beats Weidman

Boxing champ Roy Jones Jr. may now be 44-years-old, but that hasn’t stopped the boxing legend from planning a return to the sport to respond to a challenge made by MMA great Anderson Silva.

And though the fight would be out of “The Spiders” element (boxing ring), Jones feels he should have a warm-up fight to shake the rust.

“I want to be ready for Anderson Silva in case he beats Weidman,” said Jones. “Silva has made it clear that if he wins, he wants me next. I’m here for him. That’s a fight that intrigues a lot of people, but I can’t fight Anderson Silva coming off such a long layoff. So I needed to get a fight first. If it wasn’t for Anderson Silva calling me out, I wouldn’t be fighting this fight.” – ESPN

According to reports by ESPN, Jones Jr. is set to take on Russian boxer Eddine Benmakhlouf (17-3-1, 8 KOs) in Moscow in preparation for a 2014 showdown with Silva in the Ring. No exact details are known now about how the match would be setup–but if they are to take place, UFC president Dana White will need to be involved, as Silva is under an exclusive contract to Zuffa llc., as he recently signed a new contract with the organization.

Stop mixing the two sports. Ridiculous to see these two wanting to compete with one another… Even though boxing is used in MMA it’s not the same on many levels. On a side note.. It was quite entertaining and funny to see Randy Couture submit James Tony? Made him tap like a little b!tch after all the crap he talked about MMA lol

Franky Edgar competes in wrestling tournaments. Matt Mitrione competes in grappling competitions. And I think it’s a good thing as wrestling and jujitsu are both aspects of MMA, so is boxing so I say make it happen.